Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has provided an update on Benjamin Sesko’s injury situation, confirming that the striker is dealing with a problem in a similar area to his previous shin injury, although it is not a recurrence of exactly the same issue.
The Slovenian forward’s fitness has become a concern for United, with Carrick admitting that the club is still assessing the problem and cannot yet provide a definite timeframe for his return.
Speaking about the nature of the injury at the press conference ahead of our game against Tottenham, Carrick explained:
> “the original was a shin anyway, yeah, it was a shin. It’s not the exact issue, it’s a similar area, but it’s not the exact same thing again, and we’re kind of still working through a little bit of seeing how long the issue will be. We’re hoping that will be soon, obviously, but, at this moment, it’s still not quite clear.”
Carrick’s comments suggest that although the latest setback involves the same general area of Sesko’s leg, United do not believe he has simply suffered a repeat of the original injury.
However, the uncertainty surrounding his recovery means supporters will have to wait for further information before knowing when the striker might be available for selection again.
The United manager also addressed the question of why Sesko has encountered another fitness problem after apparently making good progress in his recovery from the initial injury.
Carrick said:
> “there’s different things to look at. I think he had recovered really well actually from the initial one and there was a lot of time and sometimes \[things\] get thrown up, the body does certain things and we’ve got to react to that and try and get him back as quick as we can.”
His explanation highlights the unpredictable nature of injury rehabilitation, particularly when a player appears to have recovered well before experiencing another physical issue.
Although Carrick sounded hopeful that Sesko would return relatively soon, he was careful not to make any promises about how long the forward might remain unavailable.
For Manchester United, the priority will be ensuring that Sesko is fully fit before returning to competitive action, rather than rushing him back and risking further complications.
The distinction between the original shin injury and the latest problem is significant. While both involve a similar area, Carrick’s comments indicate that the medical staff are dealing with a separate issue rather than necessarily treating an unsuccessful recovery from the first injury.
Nevertheless, questions remain over the precise nature of the setback, how much additional rehabilitation Sesko will require and when he might be ready to resume playing. Questions should also be asked about why the club started the season with just one no.9, knowing we would be stretched more this season following our qualification for the Champions League.